Rainfall was below average nationwide over the past week with heatwave conditions arriving from midweek onwards making angling very challenging with strong sunshine and air temperatures in the high 20’s. This resulted in extremely elevated water temperatures and ultimately the closing of some fisheries in the Moy system. Water levels at Ballylahan dropped steadily from 0.7 m on 6th July down to 0.23 m by noon on Sunday 13th July. Mixed and changeable weather is expected for the week ending 20th July with spells of rain and showers turning heavy and thundery at times. As a result, rainfall amounts will be above average generally with accumulations of 60 mm to 80 mm forecast for the catchment.
Moy Fishery
As referred to in the introduction, the Moy Fishery closed from midnight Friday 11th July due to elevated water temperatures. Just the one salmon to report for the period Monday to Friday, from the Cathedral Beat caught on the fly and weighing 3 lbs.
The angling boat is available on the Lower Beat which comprises of Polnamonagh, Spring Wells and the Ash Tree Pool. Once the fishery reopens, permits can be secured by contacting the Moy Fishery office at 096 21332 or by email at moyfishery@fisheriesireland.ie
Ballina Salmon Anglers
Peter reports twenty-three salmon caught for the week all on the worm and spinning with weights from 3 lbs to 5 lbs and the best weighing in at 8 lbs.
Mount Falcon Estate
Mike reports of five salmon caught for the week all on the fly.
Knockmore Salmon Anglers
Kenneth reports of five salmon caught for the week mostly on the prawn with weights from 3 lbs to 5 lbs.
Attymass Angling Club
Kevin reports of six salmon caught for the week all on the prawn.
Coolcronan Fishery
Nick reports of just the one salmon caught for the week.
Byrnes Fishery
Roy reports of eight salmon caught for the week of which three were released mostly on the prawn with the best weighing in at 4 lbs
The Foxford Fishery
Granville reports of three salmon caught for the week on the bubble and fly with the best weighing 5 lbs.
Foxford Salmon Anglers
Harry reports of fifteen salmon caught for the week using all methods with six of these coming off Rinnaney and the remaining nine coming off Carrigeen and the High Bank.
Cloongee Fishery
Cloongee Fishery closed from midnight on Friday 11th July due to elevated water temperatures.
Anglers are reminded that they must make a “Catch/No Catch” return on the blue duplicate of their permit and place in the catch return boxes located in the two car parks. Catch/No Catch returns can also be made by email to moyfishery@fisheriesireland.ie
East Mayo Anglers Association
Kathleen reports of nine salmon caught for the week of which four were released. All methods working well with most weighing 3 lbs to 6 lbs and the best weighing 8.5 lbs. East Mayo Anglers Association closed the fishery from midnight 12th July due to elevated water temperatures.
The Moy Estuary
Judd Ruane reports of an improvement on the estuary with the break in the weather and a good head of sea trout running in with the salmon with fourteen quality sea trout caught and tagged on Pegasus.
John Fleming’s guests enjoyed some superb action over the weekend, with porbeagle sharks around the boat almost as soon as they started a drift. The action was confined to the mornings, with sharks seeming to show less interest later, but pollack fishing kept the crews entertained. John has some great photos up, see below for some great fishy action.
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Porbeagle shark.
John also says the wildlife in the bay has been prolific in the good weather, with birds such as storm petrels every day feeding on the chum slick, along with guillemots, razorbills, herring guls, gannets and fulmars. They also had a minke whale breach alongside the boat and kept pace with them – at 16 knots! Anyone who has fished with John knows he drives the boat like he does his car – no sparing the diesel – so that was a fast whale! (he drives his car slightly faster than 16 knots though…)
Go fishing…
To book fishing with John aboard the Brazen Hussy II, give him a call on 087 7571320
A regular day is between 9am- 6pm from either Rossaveal, Spiddal or Galway depending on species being sought after. Fishing on the inshore reefs for pollock, cod, ling, wrasse, conger eel and mackerel can be reached in 10 minutes from departure, while our offshore reef marks are within 45 minutes of departure. Our ground fishing for tope, spurdog, ray, bullhuss, turbot, plaice and the giant common skate can all be reached within the hour which ensures the most amount of time is spent fishing.
The shark season usually starts at the end of June and runs into late October, this is the ultimate angling adrenaline rush with these hard fighting blue and porbeagle sharks all being tagged and released safely.
Package deals available
Anglers on the Clare Dragoon have enjoyed some exciting shark fishing this week, with the warm settled weather helping.
Skipper Luke Aston says Friday was a lovely day on the sea, and the porbeagles were interested. They finished the day with 3 porbeagle shark to the boat. They were also entertained by a pod of dolphins with some very young ones staying close to it mother!!
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Saturday was another fantastic day on the, sea and despite a very slow drift they had good fishing off the bottom, and shark swimming around the boat. It proved very hard to get the blues to take but great fun with little bits of bait on spinning gear. The porbeagles were still taking the deep shark traces and they had 2 to the boat at 150 and 200 lbs.
Go fishing…
Clare Dragoon
Clare Dragoon is a LOCHIN 366 powered by 650HP engine, skippered by Luke Aston and operating out of Carrigaholt Co. Clare…
I have some offers up on my web site www.fishandstay.com and if anybody is interested in putting a trip together please do get in touch. Also I Twitter from the boat on @fishandstay and try to update my face book page www.facebook.com/CarrigaholtSeaAngling fairly often!To experience some of the best deep sea fishing available in Ireland contact Luke. Telephone: +353 65 9058209 or +353 87 6367544 Email:lukeaston@eircom.netWeb:www.fishandstay.com
Brown tag conservation regulations in force on Roughty River
Wednesday, July 16th, 2025: Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) has today opened the fourth and final draw for anglers wishing to catch and keep salmon from Kerry’s River Roughty.
‘Brown tag’ regulations apply to the river catchment from March 15th until September 30th, 2025, when the salmon fishing season ends.
Anglers interested in entering the August 6th lottery draw for one of the remaining 18 brown tags can apply at the IFI website between today, July 16th, and midnight on Sunday, August 3rd, 2025.
Commenting, Sean Long South-Western River Basin District Director at IFI stated: “The numbers of wild Atlantic salmon returning to our rivers is declining. The risk of over-fishing puts stocks in further jeopardy.
“Brown tag measures for salmon and sea trout are required on the Roughty River to conserve stocks and avoid accidental over-harvesting.
“Where there is a modest harvestable surplus with a risk of over-exploitation, this brown gill tag system is introduced to closely monitor the angling quotas.”
A total of 74 brown tags are available in 2025. They are being distributed to anglers with a valid rod licence via four draws during the season.
Previous draws were held in February, April, and June, and 56 brown tags have been distributed to date.
Anglers may only receive one Brown Tag per season for use on the River Roughty catchment.
Those who receive the tags through the lottery system must place them on the fish – along with a blue tag – as proof it was lawfully caught and may be retained for private use.
Anglers not allocated a brown tag are only permitted to fish for salmon on the Roughty River on a catch-and-release basis, where the salmon is returned safely to the same waterbody.
Anglers must use catch-and-release methods only, involving single or double barbless hooks. Use of worms as bait is not permitted.
Peter Driver of Piscari Fly is back with his weekly roundup of the fishing scene
How’s The Fishing?
After a pretty hot week and weekend there is not much fishing to report. The water temperatures were too high and a lot of fisheries were advising anglers to not go out and it was fair enough to do so. However, we are looking forward to this week now with some rain and cooler weather coming in and hopefully we will get back on the rivers and lakes of Ireland. There should be some good fishing to be had, once a drop of fresh water comes into the rivers. A few pictures here from Ricky Croke from early last week before the temperatures got too high. He got some nice fish, some good Dry Fly action in the evening time.
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World Youth Fly Fishing Championship
Team Ireland had a great start to their trip. Practice sessions went well according to reports from the managers. We want to wish them all the best. The competition started Monday evening/night our time here and we have some results which came through first thing this morning.
The first session is just over this morning our time and the results are in. Team Ireland had a decent first session and are sitting in mid table. Well done lads and keep pushing up.
Piscari-fly Club
Update on the Road to Italy
Peter has been on the club reviewing these latest modular chestpacks figuring out which will suit him best for his Italian trip. He also has videos on there reviewing rods and flylines and lots of tackle. These can all be seen on Piscari-Fly Club; so log in and check them out. There will be lots going up there over the coming weeks on the road to Italy.
About Piscari Plus Club
Piscari-Fly Club is all about creating a community of like-minded anglers who have a passion to evolve, educate, and progress in the world of flyfishing and flytying. The Piscari-Fly Club will be hosted by its owner and passionate fly angler Peter Driver.
Based on the River Nore just outside Thomastown, Co Kilkenny, Ireland. Piscari-Fly is a growing Fly Tying and Fly-Fishing business with a vast amount of experience and knowledge. If there is ever anything I can do to make my service better for you please feel free to suggest it to me and I’ll gladly try my best to accommodate your requests. Thanks again. Peter Driver.
As a small business we depend on the satisfaction of our customers and their word of mouth reference, google reviews are important to our online presence and we sure would appreciate your review. Just head over to this link and give us a quick review.
Anglers Battle for Top Prizes in the Hong Kong and Guinness Fish-and-a-Half Trophies
It was all action on the water this weekend as the Crosshaven Sea Anglers Club hosted the eagerly anticipated Hong Kong Trophy and Guinness Fish and a Half Trophy Competition, proudly sponsored by O’Connor Motor Factors, Glanmire.
With rods at the ready and the tide in their favour, local anglers reeled in a total of 87 fish across 9 different species, making for a thrilling and diverse contest.
Alister Kennedy with a nice ling
Anthony Austin proved unstoppable this year, landing a whopping 34 fish for 345 points, taking 1st Place Overall and clinching the prestigious Hong Kong Trophy with 233 edible points.
Anthony Austin receiving the Guinness fish and half trophy
Trailing the leader but putting in a stellar effort were:
2nd Place Overall: Eddie Deasy – 10 fish, 161 points
3rd Place Overall: Gary Sullivan – 13 fish, 131 points
The next generation of anglers made a splash too:
1st Place Junior: Alister Kennedy – 16 fish, 202 points
1st Place Juvenile: Kate O’Connell – 10 fish, 184 points
Kate O’Connell with the juvenile trophy
Species Breakdown
The sea offered up a colourful array of fish:
38 Pollack
18 Pouting
8 Cuckoo Wrasse
7 Coalfish
5 Ballan Wrasse
5 Poor Cod
4 Conger
1 Ling
1 Lesser-Spotted Dogfish (LSD)
It wasn’t just about the prizes — it was a day of camaraderie, sea air, and unforgettable moments for the Crosshaven angling community. A huge thanks to all participants and to O’Connor Motor Factors Glanmire for their continued support.
Go fishing…
Join the club
The Crosshaven Sea Angling Club (SAC) has been a cornerstone of local sea angling since its founding in 1957. Whether you’re targeting pollack, bass, conger, or dogfish, the Club offers plenty for anglers of all skill levels. In 2024, Crosshaven welcomed teams from 13 countries for the 59th World Senior Boat Angling Championships—showing the club’s capacity to host world-class events
We are open to adults and particularly juniors, where new members enjoy camaraderie, tackle sharing techniques from seasoned anglers and plenty of social events.
We support our youngest anglers, nurturing future talents like Jack Walsh and Sarah Lynch who will represent Ireland at the World youths boat championships in Montenegro in 2025.
Whether you’re an experienced angler or a curious beginner, Crosshaven Sea Anglers Club welcomes new members of all ages and skill levels. Join us for competitions, social events, and the best fishing Cork Harbour has to offer!
For membership details, contact Fred Vickery (085 747 6807) or check out our Facebook page – Crosshaven SAC.
Had a great trip with Colorado resident Lance Elmshaeuser. I juggled the limited dates he had available to give us the best chance of getting the trip done and in the end we had more than enough time, but other challenges presented themselves! The heat of the previous days meant that as we met in the morning the coastline was cloaked in fog, with even a mist of rain falling, but more importantly the sea was calm…
First things first, get afloat
Having gone through the final briefings we went afloat and paddled to the first location as Lance got used to his new ride and I pointed out what could be seen through the mist. We found fish through experimentation and by moving from spot to spot with some of the bigger pollack needing teamwork to get them up from the depths and one (New) rod failing prematurely under load!
Pollack
As the trip progressed the sun burnt off the fog to reveal the stunning West Cork coastline in all it’s glory, which must have been a highly memorable vista for Lance considering he lives 20 hrs drive away from the US Coastline…
Lots of fish
On the way back in, after a longer than usual trip due to the now ideal conditions, we found Sandeel shoals dispersed across a wide area, which we were able to watch through the crystal clear waters of the bay and explained the wider than normal distribution of the fish in that area…
Sandeel
Go fishing…
Contact me now to arrange your Guided Trip or Workshop – Mullet, Pollock, Bass, Wrasse,
Fly or Lure, Kayak or Shore, plus Junior Coarse Fishing. david.aawc@gmail.com
David has been lure then fly fishing since the mid noughties with some of the best guides and anglers in Ireland and abroad.
Kayak fishing by lure & fly now takes him and his guiding guests beyond the shore to target Pollock, Bass or Wrasse with the chance of other species such as Codling, Coalfish, Mackerel or Garfish.
Shore fishing at night is also a very special experience.
Paddy Dunworth at Celtic Angling was out with Brock Pfost from Missouri last week. Brock was on a cruise around Ireland on the Azamara Quest liner and he jumped ship at Foynes for a full day fly-fishing session.
River Deel and Bateman’s Mill at Newbridge
The River Deel at Newbridge was the prefect venue as it’s only a 20 minute drive from Foynes. Conditions were ideal barring the bright sunshine. There was a NW wind, which was ideal for fishing upstream dry-fly, a nice bit of freshwater in the river after the rain and the air temperature was a comfortable 18°C temperature. To backing track of unending birdsong Brock handled the wading and fly-casting admirably. Paddy’s photos tell the story.
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Brock's beautiful brown trout from the Deel
...and another
Overall Brock was thrilled with the opportunity to fly-fish for real Irish wild browns in a natural and challenging environment. He had success too, catching 5 or 6 fish and he a lot more rises as well. The fly of the day was a size 16 Black Gnat. All fish carefully released.
Badged Fly-fishing Guide and Instructor for wild brown trout on Co. Limerick’s rivers Deel and Maigue.
Notes: Based near the picturesque village of Adare(Ireland’s Prettiest Village)
Paddy has been delivering personal guiding for wild brown trout on local streams and rivers for 25 years now. He is a qualified Marine and Countryside Guide and offers Fly-casting tuition for beginners and improvers.
Paddy replies promptly to all queries, email best so I have reference record of details in the event of a follow-up booking. Deposit not usually required as advice of accommodation suffices in lieu.
Tackle and gear hire
Full fly outfit/waders etc. on hire also for those wishing to go alone.
ast weekend saw cooler weather and widespread rain spreading east across the country resulting in rising water levels and dropping water temperatures. This short-term change in the weather improved angling conditions for a while. However, with temperatures rising steadily since the beginning of the week and a Status Yellow high temperature warning in place (temperatures are expected to peak at around 30 degrees over the coming weekend), most angling will be impacted again.
Anglers are reminded during these periods of high temperatures to consider fish welfare. The use of keep nets is not recommended when waterways, particularly canals, experience high water temperatures, low water levels and low oxygen. Pike become very sensitive to temperature and pressure changes and angling for them is not recommended. Stress of capture can lead to mortalities for salmon and trout when water temperatures exceed 20 degrees Celsius.
In this context IFI has announced that the Galway Fishery, the Erriff Fishery and the Cloongee Fishery on the River Moy will be closed from midnight tonight as water temperatures exceeded the 20-degree threshold today. A closure of the Moy Fishery in Ballina is also expected and anglers are urged to check with the Ridge Pool Angling Centre in Ballina (+353 (0)96 22669) for up-to-date information.
The Grand Canal in Co. Offaly saw a great turnout at the NCFFI All-Ireland Youth Canal Championships held in Daingean. The championship brought together junior anglers from across the country, competing in a fun and friendly environment designed to promote canal angling among youth. A full report is available here. Also in Offaly, members of the Leinster Coarse Fishing Federation found water levels to be well down on the canals from the norm last weekend, but that didn’t seem to impact the fishing too badly, with good mixed bags of hybrids, roach and bream.
Moving to Co. Wexford, where the 25th anniversary Dunbrody Festival was held at Oaklands over the past weekend. This 2-day festival saw difficult fishing with strong winds but there were still some great nets weighed in, especially by winner Ronan Minogue. Staying in the southeast, fine bags were reported from Loch Mahon – Ireland’s newest Carp Fishery. Loch Mahon is situated 10 minutes from Enniscorthy and 20 minutes from New Ross and can hold up to 15 anglers at a time, with loads of room for feeder anglers and pole anglers. The carp range from 1lbs to 10lbs, and there are some lovely tench as well. Further info available here.
Loch Mahon in Co. Wexford
Last but not least over to sea angling. As in previous weeks, charter boats recorded some outstanding catches. On the east coast, Kit Dunne of Wicklow Boat Charters continued to produce the goods for his clients reporting plenty of bullhuss and tope on most days, with the odd big one thrown in. Best fish of the week was a specimen tope at 161cm for Dan O’Reilly which wins our Catch of the Week. Earlier in the week, Kit had the local club, Wicklow Bay SAC, onboard for a species competition. The fishing was excellent with a total of 18 species recorded, including plenty of tope, hounds, gurnard, ray, whiting, pollack, wrasse, dogs, some bullhuss, dragonets, and a few more.
Blue shark were also on the plate for anglers aboard the Clare Dragoon, skippered by Luke Aston, fishing out of Carrigaholt. But even on the windy days his guests enjoyed some good fishing in shelter, with tope, thornback ray and bullhuss featuring in catches. A number of porbeagles were also caught by his clients making it a perfect week along the Clare coast.
Skipper Sean Maguire who also fishes out of Carrigaholt reports that while the weather hasn’t been the most helpful lately, the fishing when they could get out had been quite productive, with plenty of pollack, spurdog, mackerel and even squid, while a little further north in Galway Bay, John Fleming reported a few more blues together with good mixed fishing for anglers on the Brazen Hussy II.
Further up the coast, the National Junior Competition / Daniel Peacock Memorial 2025 took place in the seas around beautiful Clew Bay. The event was organised by Newport SAC, and it was a special occasion as it marked the 20th anniversary of the passing of a local club angler and the grandson of former club secretary, Sue Steer. The overall winner of the competition was Daithi Nevin with an impressive haul of 14 dogfish, two ray and two bulhuss giving him a total of 160 points on the day.
Finally, we would like to make all interested sea anglers aware that the Greystones Annual Tope Festival will be fished on 30th & 31st August. Tight Lines!
And now the weather…
Tonight will be dry with long clear spells and light winds. Very mild or warm with temperatures not falling below 13 to 17 degrees. Saturday will hot with temperatures reaching 26 to 30 degrees. It will be dry and sunny with light to moderate southeasterly winds. Sunday will start out largely fine and dry with good sunny spells and mostly light winds. Cloud will build from the west with outbreaks of rain pushing in across Atlantic coastal counties. Some heavy and possibly thundery showers are possible in the west during the late afternoon and evening. A very warm day with highest temperatures of 22 to 28 degrees and southerly breezes. Indications for next week are for a change to more unsettled and cooler weather with more rain turning heavy at times.
Don’t forget to double-check the forecast before heading off, and if you’re going to sea, check the tides.
Skipper Sean Maguire says that while the weather hasn’t been the most helpful lately, the fishing when they could get out ha been quite productive, with plenty of pollack, spurdog, mackerel and even squid. Below are some photos from recent trips where anglers certainly enjoyed their day out.
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Go Fishing
Isle of Aran
Fishing Adventures on Séan Maguire’s Isle of Aran, a Lochin 33 charterboat which operates 15 miles from Kilbaha, Carrigaholt, and Kilrush.
Whether you want to go to the Atlantic Ocean for a large selection of species, including different types of shark, or fish the estuary for ray conger tope etc, Fishing Adventures will cater for whatever fishing you desire. Telephone: +353 (0) 877508758 or +353 (0) 894431182 Email:fishadven@gmail.comWeb:www.fishingadventures.ie
Notes: Based near the picturesque village of Adare (Ireland’s Prettiest Village)
